Software Platforms: We can provide access to certain software platforms to facilitate the editorial production of books and journals, and we can permanently host publications (e.g., open access journals and books) on LU Zone, Laurentian’s online institutional repository.

Publisher Services: We act as the agent of the University in its role as publisher for the assigning of international standard book numbers (ISBNs), for the arranging of cataloguing in publication (CIP) and for legal deposit of exemplars of Laurentian-published works with Library and Archives Canada.

The Library & Archives provides no particular assistance with the physical printing of works; if printing services are required, a creator may wish to consult with the Laurentian’s Print Hub.

Open Access

The Library & Archives strongly encourage publication in open access of academic and administrative works intended for public readership. For more information on open access, especially in the context of Laurentian University, please see the Library & Archives information page on Open Access.

Copyright

In the context of publication services, a few points on copyright should be made:

In Canada, copyright adheres to a work as soon as the work is created; there is no need to register a copyright to establish it. It is, however, possible for a copyright holder to register copyright for a work through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

Assignment of an ISBN (or similar) to a work does not confer copyright.

Open access publication of a work does not imply the renunciation of copyright; that a work is available in open access does not at all mean that it is in the public domain.

For further information about copyright in general and how copyright is managed at Laurentian University, please see the Library & Archives information page on copyright.

Research Data Management

The Library & Archives provide a number of services to researchers that facilitate the retention, preservation, discovery and sharing of data generated in the course of research. For fuller information about our Data Services, please contact Tomasz Mrozewski (tmrozewski@laurentian.ca).

Publishing Platform Software

The Library & Archives will be pleased to provide members of the Laurentian community access to certain software platforms that facilitate the editorial processes of creating and publishing a book or a journal. For further information on these platforms, please contact Tomasz Mrozewski (tmrozewski@laurentian.ca) or Dan Scott (dscott@laurentian.ca).

For books, we provide access through the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) to Open Monograph Press, “an open source software platform for managing the editorial workflow required to see monographs, edited volumes and, scholarly editions through internal and external review, editing, cataloguing, production, and publication” (Public Knowledge Project).

For scholarly journals, especially as these may be open access, we can provide access, also through OCUL, to the Open Journal Systems (OJS) software platform that “assists with every stage of the refereed publishing process, from submissions through to online publication and indexing” (Public Knowledge Project). For some journal projects, it may not be necessary or desirable to use the feature-rich, though somewhat complex, OJS software; we would be pleased to discuss other, potentially simpler, approaches to the creation and ongoing publishing of a journal.

Digital Content Hosting

Digital books, journals, and other digital objects can be added to the University’s digital institutional repository, LU Zone, which provides a storage and access platform that ensures that content is found by appropriate search engines (e.g., Google Scholar) and is backed up regularly. Normally, content hosted on LU Zone is intended to be open access. For assistance with adding content to LU Zone, please contact Ashley Thomson (athomson@laurentian.ca).

International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs)

If an individual or a group (as “author”) has created a monographic work (e.g., a physical book, an e-book, an audiobook, an instructional video, a CD-ROM), this work should be assigned an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) by its publisher before being distributed. If it is intended by an author that Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne be identified as the publisher of a work, whether the work is in English or French, then the author should contact the University Librarian to request an ISBN, which will identify the University as the publisher.

Generally, if the work is issued or sponsored by an academic or administrative unit of Laurentian University, it may be considered a Laurentian University publication. In case of doubt, before providing an ISBN, the University Librarian will consult with the University’s Chief of Staff, who has general oversight of Laurentian University communications, as to whether the work should be identified as a Laurentian University publication. The University Librarian serves as the contact between Laurentian University and ISBN Canada, and maintains the list of Laurentian University ISBNs that have been assigned, reporting, in this regard, to the Chief of Staff upon request.

Each specific format or edition of a given work should have a distinct ISBN (unless more than one format will be distributed together as a unit, e.g., a book distributed with an accompanying CD); an ISBN for each such format or new edition should be requested. Upon request, the University Librarian may also be able to offer assistance with respect to an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for a serial publication or an International Standard Music Number (ISMN) for a musical publication.

The following resources on ISBNs may be helpful:

ISBN Canada – The Canadian ISBN Agency, the unit within Library and Archives Canada (LAC) that assigns ISBNs to Canadian publishers publishing primarily English-language or bilingual works. There is much important information on ISBNs in Canada on its website, including a helpful FAQ and a searchable list of primarily English-language and bilingual Canadian publishers.

Attribution ISBN – The Canadian ISBN agency within Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) that assigns ISBNs to Canadian publishers producing primarily French-language works. There is much important information on ISBNs in Canada with respect to French-language publishing, including a searchable list of French-language publishers in Canada.

Cataloguing in Publication

Once a work has been assigned an ISBN, it may be eligible for the Cataloguing in Publication service by Library and Archives Canada. Cataloguing in publication data will be helpful for libraries that may wish to acquire the work or for booksellers if it is a work for eventual sale. The University Librarian can assist in assessing the eligibility of a work and with completing and submitting the application form.

Legal Deposit

Many works published in Canada are subject to the requirements of Legal Deposit. Legal deposit is a means of creating a record of Canada’s publication heritage; works acquired under the program become a part of the collection of Library and Archives Canada. The University Librarian can assist in assessing the applicability of legal deposit requirements to a given work and can assist in completing the deposit of the work with Library and Archives Canada.